Cryptocoryne Hudoroi

I grow my hudoroi without much peat and prefer to use topsoil or even no organic material in the mix.  

My understanding and limited information research suggests that its from primarily a limestone stream biotope that has little or limited nutrients compared to the blackwater peat streams that are lower in PH.  

I use tap water for the hudoroi with sand and gravel as a substrate primarily.  I also grow it semi emersed meaning theres an inch or two of water over the substrate and up the stems of the plants.  

It grows better and grows easier submerged usually from my experience.  It does tend to melt more than wendtii and similar hardy crypts but it grows back well provided the conditions are met to its liking.  If  it grows slowly then it isn’t in the best conditions I feel.

The substrate that is working for me in my emersed area is a mixture of 1 part coarse grain silica based construction or pool sand, 1 part crushed fine gravel with 3mm particle grain size, and ¼ part dolomite grain but a lesser amount of the powdered dolomite would likely be sufficient.

My tap water here is right at 7.0 for seasoned or aged straight from the faucet into plastic containers.  The lower PH of some of the blackwater crypts living in waters where there is strong tannins and lots of nutrients doesn’t seem to afford happiness to hudoroi.  Perhaps I’ve gotten lucky with my combinations but a higher PH makes it grow faster.

If you want something a little more interesting but have avoided hudoroi because of it being harder to keep, consider it again.  Its becoming more common, and thusly and therefore more affordable, in the hobby.  It would make a great addition to the right aquarium, terrarium, or wabi kusa.